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JUDITH AND HOLOFERNES – AN ACCOUNT OF
THE DEPORTATIONS – THE JERUSALEM OF THE BALKANS
LES JUIFS DE SALONIQUE
The Jew of
The history of European theatre has many examples
of the anti-Semitic portrayal of the Jew. A striking example is Christopher
Marlowe's "The Jew of Malta". We have extracted and edited a small
section of the play. It echoes uncannily the scenes of the deportation of the
Jews of Salonica. Not to mention their earlier deportation from
[The Jew, Barabas, is in his parlour. Enter
three fellow-Jews of the city.]
BARABAS: Why, how now, countrymen?
Why flock you thus to me in multitudes?
What trouble's afoot among the Jews?
FIRST JEW:
A fleet of warlike galleons, Barabas,
Has come from
And the city's Council is in meeting,
To talk with the delegation of the Turks.
BARABAS: So let them come, as long as they be
not for war.
Or let them war, so long as we be the
conquerors…
FIRST JEW: Ay Barabas, they come for peace or
they come for war…
BARABAS: [Aside] So let them fight, and
conquer and kill all,
Fair being that they spare me, my daughter and
my wealth…
SECOND JEW: I fear that their coming will
afflict us all.
THIRD JEW: But there is a meeting at the Senate
House,
And all the Jews in the city must be there.
FIRST JEW: [Repeating] …A meeting in the
Senate House,
And all the Jews must be there…
BARABAS: So go, brethren… Why delay you more…?
OLD MAN: [As he speaks these lines the puppet
figures "come to life"] And so, with the entirety of the city in
the fear of the Turks, the Jews betook themselves to the Senate House. Let us
move to the scene in the Senate House.
[…]
PRINCE: So, Captain, what does the Turk your
master want from us.
CAPTAIN: He is here, Prince. You may ask him for
yourself.
TURK: We have come, Christian, from
PRINCE: Alas, my lord, the sum is over-great.
Our exchequer is not so great as that. I hope your highness will deal with us
more lightly.
TURK: Lightly I cannot. I represent my father
here. I wish, grave governor, it were in my power to favour you – but I dare
not. The sum must be paid.
PRINCE: And you have your warships in our
harbour…
TURK: To help your deliberations… [To the Captain]
Everyone stand aside, and let the Christians consider. And send to keep our
galleys under sail, for happily we shall not tarry long here. Now, Christian,
how are you resolved?
PRINCE: Thus: since your hard conditions are
such that you will needs have ten years' tribute past, we shall need time to
make collection amongst the inhabitants of Malta for it.
CAPTAIN: That's more than was in our orders.
TURK: Peace, Captain! A little courtesy! Let us
know their time. Perhaps it is not too long. And 'tis more kingly to obtain by
peaceful means than to enforce conditions by constraint. What time do you need,
Prince?
PRINCE: Just one month.
TURK: We grant you a month. But see you keep
your promise. Now launch our galleys back again to sea, where we shall wait for
the period you have taken, and for the money we shall send our messenger.
Farewell, Prince.
The Turk and the Captain
"exit".
PRINCE: And all good fortune wait upon you. (To
his Officer) Go and call the Jews of the town hither. Were they not summoned
to appear today.
OFFICER: They were, my lord; and here they come.
OLD MAN: Enter Barabas and three Jews.
OFFICER: Have you decided what to say to them?
PRINCE: Yes. Give me leave. And, Hebrews, now come
near. From the Emperor of Turkey is arrived great Selim Calymath, his
highness's son, to take from us ten years' tribute past. And you should know
that we are concerned…
BARABAS: Then, good my lord, to keep your peace
of mind, your lordship shall do well to let them have it.
PRINCE: Soft, Barabas! There's more to it than
that. For the amount of tribute demanded, we have put in what we can. But it is
not enough, because of the wars that have emptied our exchequer. And therefore
are we to request your aid.
BARABAS: Alas, my lord, we are no soldiers! And
what's our aid against so great a prince?
OFFICER/KARAGHIOZIS: Tush, Jew, we know thou art
no soldier. Thou art a merchant and a money'd man. And 'tis thy money, Barabas,
that we seek.
BARABAS: How, my lord! my money!
PRINCE: Yours, and of your fellow Jews.
FIRST JEW: Alas, my lord, the most of us are
poor!
PRINCE: Then let the rich ones increase your
share.
BARABAS: We are foreign strangers. Are strangers
with your tribute to be taxed?
OFFICER/KARAGHIOZIS: As strangers you had leave
to make your wealth. So let you with us contribute.
BARABAS: How? Equally?
PRINCE: No, Jew, like infidels; for through our
sufferance of your hateful lives, who stand accursed in the sight of heaven, these
taxes and afflications are befallen. And therefore thus we are determined. Read
them the articles of our decrees.
OFFICER/KARAGHIOZIS: (He reads) First,
the tribute-money of the Turks shall all be levied amongst the Jews, and each
of them to pay one half of his estate.
OLD JEW: (He comments to the audience, from
the side of the stage) First, the tribute-money of the Turks shall all be
levied amongst the Jews, and each of them to pay one half of his estate.
BARABAS: How! Half his estate? (Aside) I
hope you mean not mine.
PRINCE: Read on.
OFFICER/KARAGHIOZIS: (He reads) Secondly,
he that denies to pay, shall straight become a Christian.
OLD JEW: (He comments to the audience, from
the side of the stage) Secondly, he that denies to pay, shall straight
become a Christian.
BARABAS: How! A Christian! (Aside) Hum –
what's here to do?
OFFICER/KARAGHIOZIS: (He reads) Lastly,
he that denies this, shall, absolutely, lose all that he has.
OLD JEW: (He comments to the audience, from
the side of the stage) Lastly, he that denies this, shall, absolutely, lose
all that he has.
THREE JEWS: O my lord, we will give half!
BARABAS: O earth-metalled villains, and no
Hebrews born! And will you basely thus submit yourselves to leave all your
goods in their possession?
PRINCE: Why, Barabas! Wilt thou be christened?
BARABAS: No, Prince, I will be no convertite.
PRINCE: Then pay thy half.
BARABAS: Do you know what you are doing by this
device? Half my substance is a city's wealth. Governor, it was not got so easily.
Nor will I part so easily therewithal.
PRINCE: Sir, half is the penalty of our decree.
Either pay that or we will seize on all.
BARABAS: Nay, by the… Stay, you shall have half.
Let me be us'd but as my brothers are.
PRINCE: No, Jew, thou hast denied the articles,
and now it cannot be recalled. Officers, go.
(The Officer and the Three Jews
"exit", as above)
BARABAS: Will you then steal my goods? Is theft
the ground of your religion?
PRINCE: No, Jew. We take particularly thine, to
prevent the ruin of a multitude. Better that one man should want for a common
good than they many perish for a private man.
BARABAS: Well, then, my lord, say, are you
satisfied? You have my goods, my money and my wealth, my ships, my store, and
all that I enjoyed. And, having all, you can request no more, unless your
unrelenting flinty hearts suppress all pity in your stony breasts, and now
shall move you to take my very life.
PRINCE: No, Barabas. To stain our hands with
blood is far from us and our profession.
Come, let us in and gather from these goods the
money for this tribute of the Turks.
Barabas is left alone on
stage.
BARABAS: Why, the plagues of
Ach, the simplicity of these base slaves, who
think me a senseless lump of clay that will with every water wash to dirt! Ha!
No, Barabas is born to better chance,
and framed of finer mould than the common man. A reaching thought will search
his deepest wits, and will cast with cunning, and will wait, will wait for the
time to come…
During this speech the large
puppet figure of the Jew returns to his suspended position. The last lines of
this speech are played by the small shadow-puppet theatre figure of the Jew,
illuminated, behind the cloth screen.
OLD JEW: There! There's my Jew! And so the
curtain comes down… (He sweeps a trailing square of red cloth in front of
the screen, as a curtain, and blows out the light behind the screen) … The
end of Act One…
The Old Man is about to place
the small figure of the Jew into his suitcase. He gestures as if placing the
Jew on the ground and shushing him along, as if getting him to march away.
OLD MAN: Yes, that's what they said: Phhhh… If
THEY'RE starting to arrive too, then it really IS all over… (Gently, as if
to a child) Yálla, yálla… Go, my little Jew. Let's see where your history
takes you to next...
He packs away the Jew too.